Hold Me Close
by Nardragon
Summary: It was impossible to pretend they were taking it slow. Not when Sara was showing up for impromptu lunch dates and offering to accompany Ava to the most mind-numbingly dull social event of the year. And Ava couldn't care less about slow or fast with Sara Lance involved, once she was near.
1. Chapter 1

Yet another Avalance one shot. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"We can take it slow, I know I messed up by pushing you away. I get if you need the time to trust me before we get back to a place like where we were before,"

Ava remembered Sara saying that the day after Salvation on a video call. It had to be a video call. Ava still had to see that three dozen pirates and twice as many Vikings got back to the right time and place. Sara and her team were planning another mission. Although from the bits of conversation Ava caught in the background the mission sounded more like a vacation.

Ava didn't mention anything. The Legends did just defeat a literal demon. And despite it all, Ava couldn't help the little thought that popped up in the back of her mind that she could join them after things got less hectic around the Bureau.

But then, that would go against everything Sara just suggested. Take it Slow.

"Right. Take it Slow. I think that would be best,"

"But, if you have the time swing by Aruba. You know, to help with the mission," She gave a wink and Ava hated how much she loved it, "Bring some swimwear if you're coming," And there went the last bit of the illusion the mission was anything but time off.

"I'll consider it," Ava couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corner of her lips.

"I'll talk to you soon,"

They said they'd take it slow, but it seemed they were doing just the opposite. It wasn't like they were particularly trying. They tried keeping it light and casual. Ava at least knew that's what she was trying to do. But then one afternoon admits the clutter of an apartment overhaul and spicy Mexican food all of Ava's doubts and insecurities about her none existent past came tumbling out.

Ava tried to give herself the space she needed while she re-examined everything. She really did. Yet, on a grey Thursday as she'd been about to leave her office when Gary came running in, slightly out of breath, bringing up the news feed on one of the screens. The headlines stabbed Ava right through the heart, in so many more ways than she would have ever expected. That happened and Ava spent every night on the Waverider for the next week. She'd find herself with her fingers curling through long blonde hair. With Sara's head tucked under her chin, sheltered from a world that had taken too much from her. She listened to stories about a man who worked double shifts so he could send his daughters to the best private school in the city. And he'd always try to be at every event for his girls, even if he didn't always make it. Sara talked about how being the daughter of a cop might have made her want to be a rebel, just to his push buttons.

Ava listened to Sara vent her confusions about the fact there was someone walking around with her sister's face. She pushed down the bitter thoughts that her own face was one of a thousand.

It was all too much to pretend it was slow. So Ava didn't. She didn't try to hide her smile when Sara showed up at random carrying lunch, suspiciously on the days Ava forgot to eat. She suspected Gary had something to do with that. She didn't stop herself from calling the Waverider when the need to hear Sara's voice bubbled up. Okay, maybe she didn't stop herself all the time.

It was one of those days when Sara showed up with a bag of takeout. It was extra suspicious today because Gary wasn't even at headquarters.

"Hey,"

"Hi, what brings you to my office today?"

"Oh, well, a heard of gremlins ate a town in 2004 Australia and I figured that wasn't the kind of news to tell you over a call,"

Ava's smile vanished, "Please tell me you're joking,"

"Yeah. We stopped them before they did any real damage," She took out two food containers, boldly moving Ava's work to the side.

Ava didn't comment on Sara moving her files and laptop to the corner of the desk. If the work had been very important she would have said, but right now her stomach was reminding how hungry she was and Sara was smiling like the sun, "So there was a herd of gremlins?"

"There were gremlins. Like five. Probably not enough to be called herd," Sara tugged a chair to Ava's side of the desk with her foot, "Thinking about it now, would a group of gremlins be called a herd?"

Ava sighed, rubbing her brow, "How did my life get to a place where that's a serious question?"

Sara laughed, "Just wait until you've dealt with aliens for the first time,"

"Time is enough for me. Someone else can handle space,"

"I know people who handle the space stuff,"

"Demonologists, alien hunters. Is there anyone you don't know?"

Sara leans back to think about it. The seriousness of her expression makes Ava smile.

"Underwater. I don't know anyone who specialises in underwater threats,"

"Let's hope we don't ever have to deal with a Kraken then,"

"Don't even joke about that kind of thing," Sara said.

Just then there's a knock on the door and a young man stepped in at Ava's prompt, "Director Sharpe, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you haven't confirmed if you'll be attending the Roshfort Gala,"

Ava groaned, "That slipped my mind completely,"

"The deadline for RSVPing is today,"

"Thank you for the reminder Agent. I'll give my answer by the end of the day,"

He nodded curtly, taking his leave, but not before his eyes did an obvious glance between Sara and Ava. Sara smirked as the door closed behind him.

"Gary told John there's a bet going around the Bureau on the official status of our relationship,"

"What?" Ava's brows shot up in surprise, but her expression quickly turned to annoyed, "And John told you?"

"We wanted to know what to put his money down on,"

Ava rolled her eyes, making a sound of displeasure that had Sara laughing.

"So, what's the Roshfort Gala?"

"Oh, it's nothing,"

"Didn't sound like nothing," Sara tilted her head, eyes shining with curiosity.

"It's basically a formal meet and greet for security and intelligence agencies, both public and black ops agencies. It's meant to foster relationships between the various agency heads. Really it's a brag off between a bunch of old men where they're all convinced they did something personally to save the world,"

"Are you going?"

"Eh," Ava shrugged, "It's mostly just a bunch of sticks in the mud. I've been in the past a couple times as Rip's plus one,"

"Really?" Sara arched a brow.

"Not like that," Ava nudged her gently, "He took me along so I'd be familiar with all the other agency heads. But, I guess that was another Ava he took," Her eyes went distant for a moment.

Sara placed a hand on hers, giving a squeeze, "But this will be your first time attending as Director?" She asked, deliberately trying to bring Ava back to the moment.

"I…" She took a breath, turning her hand over so she could hold Sara's properly, "I don't know if I want to go. It was never really my thing,"

"But just imagine how much you show up all those old men? You did actually help save the world,"

That pulled a soft chuckle out of Ava, "Except you did that. And it's classified information,"

Sara made a sound of protest in the back of her throat, "You helped. So what if it's classified? I'd bet half the stories they tell are supposed to be classified,"

Ava tilted her head in a non-committal gesture, "I know I should go to represent the Bureau. But it's hard, thinking about standing in this room filled with important people and knowing… well, I don't feel like going,"

"If anyone belongs in a room filled with important sticks in the muds it's you, Ava Sharpe,"

"Is that a compliment or insult?" Ava asked, bemused.

Sara shrugged, smirking. Ava shook her head but didn't say anything.

"I know what you need to go,"

"Oh really?"

"A gorgeous date. Lucky for you I happen to be free that night,"

"You don't know when it is,"

"Doesn't matter, I know I'm free. If you want me there, I'll be there,"

"It's black tie," Ava stated.

"You say that like it will discourage me," Sara arch a brow. It was a challenge.

"You really want to spend hours listening to me make small talk with a bunch of government stiffs?"

"Sounds like a fun evening out,"

"Since when?"

"You'll be in a fancy outfit, that alone makes it worth it,"

"You really want to go?"

"Yeah,"

Ava sighed, but was smiling in spite of herself, "It's next Saturday. We have to there by 8:30, so we should meet by 8:15 and portal over together,"

"I'll be by your place at 8:10 then,"

Ava snorted.

"What?"

"You can save time Sara, but being on time isn't part of your skill set,"

"Hey! That's hurtful,"

"You called me a stick in a mud two minutes ago,"

"I called you an _important_ stick in the mud, that's a big distinction,"

"Just try to be on time Lance. It won't do for the Director of the Time Bureau to show up late,"

"I'll be there early, just you watch,"

The next weekend Ava was putting on the last touches of her outfit. Part of the reason she never cared for these events was that it was near impossible to find a dress. She went with a long-sleeved, dark grey floor-length gown with only some simple emblements on the edges of the sleeves and around the collar. She'd just finished putting in her earrings when she heard the sound of a portal opening somewhere in the direction of her living room and kitchen. She glanced at her watch and chuckled, 8:04.

"Wow, you're actually early," Ava called out as she walked to the living room, "Alright, I take back what I said," And she stopped dead.

She didn't really register Sara's smug, "I told you so," as she turned to face her. Sara was in a black button up shirt, with a midnight blue waistcoat and matching slacks. Bringing it all together was striped blue and black tie. Sara's smug expression flattered when she saw the look on Ava's face.

"What? Is this okay?" She glanced down at her outfit, "Is it not formal enough? Zari and Gideon said I didn't need a jacket, but we still have time, I can go back and fabricate-"

"No," Ava interrupted gently, finding her voice again, "You look… amazing," She stepped closer, smoothening the edge of Sara's collar. Sara's expression soften.

"You did say its black tie,"

"This is blue," With a smirk, Ava adjusted the knot so it was sitting just a little snugger.

"Yeah, well, I've never been much for rules," She leant up on her toes, a hand going around Ava's neck, tugging her down for a kiss. It lasted for a breath before Sara was pulling back still on her toes "In the future we need to coordinate footwear better, this is ridiculous," Sara knocked her dress shoes together. They didn't have much in the way of height, while Ava's heels added at least another two inches to her frame. It made an exaggerated difference to their height.

A soft, sweet laugh bubbled out of Ava, "Hold on, I have another pair I can wear that aren't so high,"

"A lady who'll change her shoes for me? If I wasn't in love with you already, that would have been the thing to make me fall,"

Ava chuckled, shaking her head as she sat down to change her shoes. When she stood again they were back to their usual height difference, give or take a few centimetres.

"Ready to go Miss Lance?"

"If you are Miss Sharpe," Sara offered her arm. Ava opened a portal before taking Sara's arm. They stepped through in an ornate but mostly empty room. There was one person standing there, a woman. She didn't look at all phased but the fact they'd just stepped out a portal of light that had materialized out of the air.

She just gave a simple nod, "Miss Sharpe, welcome. A pleasant evening to you, and you as well Miss Lance. Follow the hallway and find the ballroom. My compatriots are waiting by the entrance so you can't miss it,"

"Thank you,"

Sara waited until they were out of shot before asking, "How'd she know who I was?"

"I put you down as my plus one,"

Sara's grin spread wide on her lips.

"What?" Ava asked.

"I'm your plus one,"

"Obviously," Ava was amused and puzzled, "You're a dork sometimes,"

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you,"

"I'm sure you will,"

They got to the end of the hallway, two men who were obviously security pulled the doors open for them, revealing a grand looking great hall.

"This is your last chance to duck out," Ava whispered to Sara as they crossed the threshold.

"I'm not going anywhere, Director. Except maybe to that bar," Sara said, spying it across the room.

"Get me something too, something strong. I'll need to get through these conversations,"

Sara gave her a wink as she slipped away getting two whiskeys. By the time she returned to Ava's side, she was already in conversation with a short and severe looking man.

"Here she is now," Ava said, accepting the drink with a soft, "Thank you," She nodded to the man, "Sara, this is Director James Oswald of the NRO. Oswald, this is Sara Lance,"

"A pleasure ma'am," He said, shaking her hand.

Sara half listened as he and Ava exchanged pleasantries and got into discussions about recent events. When they finished Ava pointed out a few other people in the room for Sara, whispering quick commentaries to her.

"That's Major Naomi Fraser, Co-Director of MI6 and her husband. And that's Director Andrew Elliott of the DEO. He's an asshole, so we should him avoid him,"

Sara was starting to understand what Ava meant about this being mostly a bunch of men talking about themselves. She had to hold back her laughter as she listened to the head of RAW and the Secretary-General of Interpol tell them and the Director of the CIA about how their agencies worked together to bring in a deathly assassin. They'd mentioned the assassin's name and Sara was only mildly surprised that she recognized the name. Not only did she recognize the name, she remembered kicking his ass when he was still part of the league. She whispered as much to Ava who snorted into her glass. The two men speaking shot cold glares at them.

"Something the matter?"

"No, I was just commenting on how brave you were to face such a dangerous man," Sara said, playing up the wide eyes and mystified voice.

"Well, we didn't have to deal with the field capture, but I'm personally handling the interrogations. It's only been a few weeks but I'm sure I'll have him talking soon,"

It took all of Sara's restraint to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Ava, I'm parched and I see your glass is almost empty. We should get some more drinks. If you gentlemen will excuse us," she didn't wait for a response from any of them, tugging Ava away by the arm.

Ava chuckled, "Don't worry, they aren't all that pretentious,"

"Weeks on an interrogation. That's embarrassing," Sara shook her head.

"If Sara Lance is here then there's a serious security breach," A voice cut across their conversation. Sara turned to the voice, both her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. The shock melted into a warm smile.

"I should have known you'd be here," She stepped away from Ava, giving Diggle a big hug, and then doing the same with Lyla.

"What are you doing here?" Diggle asked, "Because if something weird is about to go down with you and Legends I'm too sober to deal with that,"

Sara laughed, shaking her head. "I'm an invited guest, believe it or not. Well, my date's the one who's invited," She turned back to Ava, reaching a hand for her.

Ava took Sara's hand, suddenly looking a bit hesitant, "Ava, this is John Diggle a friend from Star City and his wife, Lyla Michaels, the Director of ARGUS. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Ava Sharpe, Director of the Time Bureau,"

"There's a Time Bureau?" Diggle asked, looking a little pale, "You mean it's not just you guys and your ship?"

"Sorry to say Digg," Sara grinned.

"Just when I think my world couldn't get any stranger,"

"Ava Sharpe," Lyla said, extending her hand, "I heard about the former Directors, my condolences," She leaned a bit closer, "But between us, it's always nice to see another woman in charge,"

Ava's smile came a bit easier. She shook Lyla's hand, "Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you, Director Michaels,"

"It's Lyla. You're Sara's girlfriend, you don't have to be formal,"

"You can call me John, but most of my friends call me Digg," Diggle said, shaking her hand after Lyla.

"I've always been impressed with your work on Task Force X. Being able to work with troublesome individuals is something I've found myself having to do more and more recently," Ava said, giving Sara a sly smirk.

Sara nudged her with her elbow, "Hey,"

"If the rumours going around about your agency are true, you recently stopped something big,"

"That was all the Legends. We were just their clean-up crew,"

"She understates her role. We couldn't have done it without her," Sara said earnestly, "I couldn't have done it without her,"

Ava tried not to blush. Lyla started to ask about her transition to the role Direction and how their relations with other agencies was faring. They seemed to share similar experiences and were soon deep in conversation.

"Why don't I get you a refill?" John said, realizing Lyla and Ava weren't going to stop their discussion anytime soon. He took Lyla's glass and gave a small nod to Sara. She took Ava's empty glass following him to the bar.

"So you're arm candy for the evening too?" Sara asked.

Diggle laughed, "You could say that," as he placed the glasses on the bar, "A champagne and scotch on the rocks," he said to the bartender.

"Two whiskey neat," Sara added.

As they waited for their drinks, Diggle leant back against the bar, looking in the direction of Ava and Lyla. "She seems impressive,"

"Oh, she is. And so much more,"

"And you seem happy,"

"I am. For the first time in a long time, I am. I don't know how I would have gotten through these past few months without her,"

Diggle nodded slowly, smiling, "It's good to see you happy,"

"How have things been on your end? How's Felicity doing?"

"I'm keeping things together. Lyla and I are keeping tabs on the city, if Diaz or anyone associated with him shows their head we'll know. As for Felicity, she's… staying strong for William. She's out of the city for a bit. She sounded good last we spoke. The space is good for her and William,"

"Have you spoken to Ollie?"

Diggle shook his head, "Went to see him not too long ago, but he was in solitary,"

"What?" Sara's voice pitched with concern.

"He'd gotten into a fight with another inmate,"

"Who was it?"

"They wouldn't tell me,"

Sara's concern deepened, "Digg, how many people did we put in there. How many did he put in there?"

"Too many," Diggle sighed, "But Oliver's strong. I know he's not going to leave William and Felicity,"

"Are we still listening to Ollie's wishes to not be broken out?"

Diggle let out a breath, "Yeah,"

"If you change your mind, you know the Legends will be there to help. We've done our share of prison breaks,"

Diggle managed a smile at that, "I'll keep that in mind,"

"How's JJ?"

Digg's smile grew tenfold, "Getting bigger every day. He's about to start school," He took his phone out to show her some recent pictures. Sara watched as Digg's eyes lit up and he started regaling her with a story about the kid climbing his way into the snack cupboard.

The bartender returned with their drinks. Diggle and Sara started making their way back through the crowds to their girls.

"Sara, with everything that's gone down recently, well, we realized we need to take more time for the simple things. Lyla and I are having the team over when Felicity gets back. You should come, you haven't really had the chance to spend time with William and Felicity is always happy to see you,"

Sara was taken back for a moment, processing the invitation. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been invited to do something so normal. Maybe Barry's wedding, but that had quickly turned into the antipathy of normal.

"Bring Ava, she can meet everyone,"

They were back in earshot of Ava and Lyla now who were both laughing at something. She noticed the way Lyla's eyes locked on Diggle and her smile turned to pure warmth. Her mind went to Oliver and Felicity, to Barry and Iris and she looked to Ava. Ava's own smile bloomed as her eyes met Sara's.

"That sounds great Digg, thanks for the invite," Sara said softly, eyes still on Ava.

"Thank you," Ava said as she accepted her drink from Sara.

"Oh no," Lyla's eyes fixed onto something behind Sara and Ava, "Don't look now but Director Gibson is coming over,"

"ASIS Gibson?" Ava asked.

Lyla nodded, "And his wife,"

Ava groaned and leant to whisper in Sara's ear, "He'll almost definitely say something inappropriate, please try not to cause an international incident,"

"I can make no such promise," Sara said.

Ava levelled a glare at her.

"Fine, I'll try, for you,"

Two hours later they were stepping through a portal, leaving behind a slack-jawed John and a waving Lyla. Just before the portal closed they heard, "Honestly Jonny, that's not much weirder than things we've seen,"

Ava dropped onto the couch, slipping off her shoes, "Why have you never mentioned you knew the Director of ARGUS?"

Sara shrugged, "It never came up. Digg and I are really the ones who know each other," She sat down on the edge of the coffee table to face Ava.

"So John worked with Oliver?"

"He was the first person Ollie brought on board. Oh, and Digg invited us over for dinner,"

"Really," Ava paused taking down her updo, "Both of us?"

"Yeah, do you want to go?"

"They're your friends, I don't have to come"

"Don't you want to meet them?"

"I mean, if you want me too,"

"Of course I want you too," Sara said, laughing. She leant forward, taking Ava's face in her hands, "You're amazing, why wouldn't I want to show you off to everyone?"

Ava shook her head, smiling, "Thank you for coming with me tonight. I hope it wasn't too boring,"

"Are you kidding? Seeing you in Director mode is a definite turn on,"

"Oh?" Ava arched a brow, "That so?"

Sara nodded, biting her bottom lip.

Ava's eyes darted down to the movement for a moment, "Well, I've been thinking about alternate uses for this tie all night," She husked, tugging the knot loose, pulling Sara nearer at the same time.

"You want to share some of those thoughts,"

"Mm-hmm," Ava hummed, closing the distance between them.

* * *

Thank you for reading.

Nardragon~ until the next page.


	2. Chapter 2

The idea for dinner with Digg was just something that popped up while writing the story. But I loved it so much I had to continue.

* * *

"Are you sure I'm not underdressed? I mean jeans are-"

"Fine," Sara cut across, coming to a stop and tugging on the hand she had looped through Ava's arm, "You look fine."

She spun Ava around to face her.

"Are you sure you want to go? There's no pressure. We can go back to your place,"

"Didn't you already say you were coming?"

Sara shrugged, "I'll text Digg and say there's a tear in the timeline that needs our urgent attention."

"But I don't want your friends to think I'm a flake,"

"They won't. And besides, Felicity and Digg are my friends. I don't know the new guys that well. I don't care if they don't like you,"

Ava's frown told Sara her words weren't comforting as she'd been intending.

"Hey, it's just a dinner. It will be fine. The world isn't under attack or in danger so the night is already off to a better start than most times my friends get together,"

"Hah," Ava exhaled deeply, "I just want to make a good first impression,"

"The Legends are some of my closest friends and you tried to arrest them when you first met,"

"We weren't dating then,"

"Come on Aves. You're amazing. You don't have to be nervous." Sara tugged her in again, rocking up on her toes to press a kiss to Ava's lips, "But I'm serious, I don't want to go if you'll feel uncomfortable. And an evening in with you sounds just as good as seeing my friends. We can have this bottle of Merlot to ourselves." She lifted the gift bag in her hand.

"You should be convincing me to meet your friends, not tempting me away," Ava said with a groan, but it came across as fond rather than annoyed.

"Like I said, I don't care. Once you're okay,"

"I'm not underdressed?"

"You always look sexy to me,"

"Yeah, but you'll say whatever to get me in your bed,"

Laughing, Sara tilted her head back. She wrapped her arms around Ava's neck, "Okay, true. But doesn't mean I'm not being honest. So which way are we going?" She nodded her head in the direction back to Ava's place and then in the opposite way, in the direction of Digg and Lyla's apartment. There was a quiet moment between them, Ava's gaze looked in the direction that would take them back home. With a slow breath in and a shake of her head, she met Sara's eyes again.

"Let's go," She wove her hand into Sara's, heading the direction they'd been going in originally, "We don't want to be late."

"No, we wouldn't. How would it look that the Captain of the Legends and the Director of the Time Bureau are the last ones to show up?" Sara brought up their joined hands to kiss Ava's knuckles.

Ava smiled, nudging Sara lightly as they walked. It was a pretty typical Star City night. A recent rainfall left the city with a hazy glow. Thin puddles shimmered with the lights of the city under their feet.

"So how much do your friends know about me?"

"Besides Digg and Lyla? Almost nothing. I mentioned you to Felicity the last time I saw her. Didn't really have the chance to talk much," Sara grew sombre for a moment. Ava knew it was because the last time she'd seen these people was at her dad's funeral.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking my circle of friends should really try to talk to each other more, other than to update each other on any new metahuman villains,"

"How should I introduce myself?"

"As my girlfriend?" Sara gave a bemused grin.

Ava laughed, "Obviously. I meant, would it be safe to tell them about the Time Bureau?"

"The adults, yeah. They all know about the Legends. But William… I don't know how much Oliver has told him. He knew his dad was the Green Arrow, even before Ollie was arrested. But outside of Team Arrow, I can't say,"

"Don't potentially give a kid an existential crisis by letting him know about time travel. Got it,"

They crossed the street, Sara nimbly jumping over a puddle as Ava sidestepped it. Their hands found eachothers' again once they were on the sidewalk again. Sara idly pointed out a building and started narrating a rooftop fight she'd had on it a few years back. Ava listened, watching as Sara's eyes retraced the path across the roofs in a chase. Ava may call Star City home, but not like Sara did. Even after living in the city for five years her intimate knowledge of the city paled next to Sara's. It's like she knew something about every street corner.

"What?" Sara stopped mid-sentence, giving Ava a tepid look.

"What?"

"You're looking at me weird. Is it the vigilante story? Do you not want to hear about it?"

"No, no, of course I do,"

"Then what's with the look?"

"Do you… miss living in the city?"

"That's-" Sara exhaled, "- hard to answer. I'll never regret getting on the Waverider. But then, I've missed so much not being here. Good and Bad. It's funny. Even after being on the Waverider for over three years if someone asked where I lived, I'd say here. And it wouldn't even be part of a cover story. Star City is home. I've always had a place here. Or… I did. But with dad gone, Thea travelling and Oliver behind bars, everyone I used to know is gone,"

"You still have Diggle and Felicity,"

"I know. Don't get me wrong, I'd go to war for either of them. But it's not the same. And they have their kids now. Ex-assassins aren't exactly child-friendly,"

They'd gotten to Diggle and Lyla's building. Sara opened the door for Ava and from the across the lobby floor she heard, "Hey, Sara," and their conversation was over.

She turned to see Curtis standing the elevator, waving with a huge smile, "You're coming to dinner too?" He stuck his hand out to stop the door from closing, "We could have invited team flash too and made a whole night of it," But then his eyes saw Ava and he looked panicked.

Sara laughed as she and Ava joined him in the elevator. "World ending things tend to happen when we all get together. So it might be for the best we didn't. Besides, speedsters make Digg nauseous,"

"True," He said with a sigh, "You didn't freak out when I mentioned the Flash, so I didn't just out we're friends with superheroes. So… you know about us?" He addressed the question to Ava.

Sara snorted, "She's the head of a clandestine agency. She probably knows more than you do,"

"Respect," He said, looking genuinely impressed.

"Curtis, this is my girlfriend, Ava. Ava, Curtis,"

They shook hands, "Which agency?"

"Time Bureau,"

"Oh, so you must work with the Legends. Is that how you met?" His eyes flickered between the two.

"Something like that," Sara, exchanging a quick smirk with Ava.

The elevator dinged open and they walked down the hall, Curtis knocking on the door. Diggle answered the door. "Hey, come on in. Felicity and Rene are already here,"

When they stepped inside Lyla broke away from talking with Rene to greet them. She hugged them each. Felicity was at the table with William, Zoe and JJ, playing some boardgame that apparently JJ didn't quite understand fully if the various stages of frustration on the faces of the other three were anything go by. Curtis waved to Rene going over to join him. Lyla took Ava around the room, introducing her to everyone.

"You're the last to arrive. Dinah can't make it. A case came up," Digg explained to Sara.

"The kind of case that means most of the people in this room can't stay for dinner?"

"Not tonight,"

"I hope it this pairs well with what you cooked." Sara offered the gift bag to him.

Diggle pulled out the bottle from the bag, "I'm sure it will," He did a double take looking at the label, "Sara this is a 20-year-old bottle. It must have a cost an arm and a leg,"

"Or next to nothing the year it was packaged," Sara said, smirking.

Digg jaw's dropped a little more, "Are you allowed to use time travel for things like that?"

"Define allowed," She laughed, "We do it all the time. Buy alcohol cheap, leave it somewhere safe and come back in a few decades. For us, the whole thing could be a few minutes,"

"Is that why all the liquor on your ship is so good?"

"There may or may not be a hidden bunker somewhere in the Hindu Kush socked with different casks and barrels that were put in there between the 15th and 17th centuries. But Ava doesn't know that, so keep it between us,"

"Next time I need a drinking buddy I'm calling you up,"

"I'd be down for that,"

Sara braced herself a second before Felicity was hugging her, "I was so happy when Digg said you were coming tonight,"

Laughing, Sara returned the hug, "Hello to you Felicity,"

"You need to visit more. You can time travel, but you can't drop in for a hello?"

"Time travel is more complicated than you'd think,"

"I'm sure it is," Felicity said in a teasing tone. She looked back over her shoulder, gesturing to William, "Buddy come here for a sec,"

He got up from the game, walking over with an inquisitive look. Felicity placed her hands on his shoulders, "I know you kind of met before, but I want you to officially meet your Aunt Sara,"

"Please, no aunt. I'm just Sara, kid." She extended her hand, giving him a warm smile.

"Hi. So, you knew my dad when he was younger?"

"Yeah. We met when my sister and I transferred to his school. I hope for Felicity's sake you're not going be like your dad when he was a teen,"

"Oh, thankfully troublemaking is one area he doesn't take after Oliver in," Felicity said, giving his shoulders a squeeze.

"I still have a lot growing up to do, you never know what's going to happen in the future," William said, grinning cheekily at Felicity.

"Don't even joke about that,"

Sara gave a full bellied laugh, "I like you kid. If you ever need a partner in a crime, you know who to call,"

"Do not encourage him," Felicity hit Sara's shoulder with a light back hand. She gave William a push back in the direction ctor of the other kids, "Go lose in snakes and ladders some more before Sara gives you any more bad ideas,"

"His eyes are almost like Oliver's were before Lian Yu," Sara mused, mostly to herself, but Felicity still heard.

"Almost?"

"Even we weren't as young as him when we experienced lost for the first time," Sara said softly.

Felicity's eyes soften as she looked at William, "He's not a troublemaker. But he does have Oliver's strength. And his mother's,"

"If you ever need any help, even if it's babysitting for a few hours, I'll be there. Day or night,"

"I know. Thank you, Sara,"

"No thanks needed. I'll even get the Legends to help,"

"The Legends handling babysitting sounds like a disaster waiting to happen," Ava's voice sounded as she stepped up next to Sara.

"You don't think my team can handle one kid?"

"Not at all. You should stick to the easy stuff, like demons,"

"Oh, so demons are easy now?"

"You certainly make them look easy,"

"Nice save Aves,"

"So, this is the impressive woman I've heard about?" Felicity's head had swerved to and fro during that conversation, her smile growing with each passing moment.

"And you're the famous Felicity. Sara talks so highly of you, if I didn't know better I'd be jealous,"

A burst of nervous, excited laughter escaped Felicity, "Famous? I don't know about that,"

"Don't let her fool you, she's brilliant,"

"And Sara loves to flatter,"

"Oh that I'm very aware of," Ava said.

"One of my many skills. You're welcome, by the way,"

Grinning Ava shook her head, amused and slightly exasperated.

Dinner was pleasant and fun. Sara always loved getting the chance to reconnect with Felicity and Diggle. Ava was tense but the kinship she had with Lyla helped ease her in. She was eventually making polite conversation with everyone. There were a few moments where the atmosphere dipped into tense and awkward when certain subjects were broached, namely when Oliver and Quinten were brought up. But the tensest moment came near the end of the night. Rene and Zoe had already taken their leave. It started innocently enough. They'd somehow gotten on the topic of flying and that had led to Digg bring up the time he and Felicity jumped out of a plane.

"…And Felicity lost her lunch when we touch down," Digg finished, earning a round of laughter.

"Where was it you went that this the plane couldn't land?" Curtis asked.

"Lian Yu," Felicity and Diggle answered together.

"That's where dad was after what happened with his ship." The silence crept in after William spoke.

Felicity spoke after a few seconds, "Yeah bud. But this happened after he'd come back to Star City. He went back for certain reasons, and Digg and I when to get him,"

"When he was stranded there, you were with him, weren't you?" William asked, looking at Sara.

If the brief silence before had felt oppressive, this had full on weight. Sara could feel the stares of everyone, but she was just looking at William. In the choking quiet William seemed to understand he'd overstepped.

"S-sorry. When I first learnt who my dad was, I looked him up. I read the articles about the Gambit and him coming back. They all mentioned you,"

"It's okay," Sara said, but the silence continued.

"I think I'll go check on JJ," Lyla said.

"Do you want help with that?" Curtis called after her, grabbing at the excuse to step out of the room.

Sara sighed, "A lot of different things happened to your dad and I after the Gambit. Most the time we'd been separated, but there was a period we were one the island together. I'm not going to tell you what happened because I don't think you need to know,"

"William, that was a very personal question and you know better,"

"I'm sorry," His eyes turned down to his lap.

"Its fine kid, you were just curious."

"I was just… happy that you were there with him. So he wasn't alone all the time. It's not nice being alone,"

Sara swallowed thickly, "No, it's not,"

The tension defused after that, but it was clear that conversation had brought their evening to a close. Not long after than Felicity announced they were calling it a night. As William was getting his coat on Sara pulled her aside.

"Sara, I'm really sorry about that,"

"It's okay. Really. But I wanted to ask about something else. Back when Verdant was around I know Ollie had a separate warehouse stocked with equipment just in case. It was a few miles north of the club. What happened to that?"

Felicity shook her head. "The warehouse had been Queen Consolidated property. But when Palmer Tech acquired it they reassessed all the assets,"

"And Oliver abandoned it to be safe," Sara finished for Felicity.

"Yeah. Sorry. Why the interest in an old warehouse?"

"My dad's place. He left everything to me, but his apartment is on lease. The landlord gave me three months to either renew it or move out and those three months are now down to two weeks,"

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't exactly have the money to renew. I mean, Gideon can fabricate money from any time, but we're not supposed to do large sums at once. It's harder for her to make it seem legit and it raises too many red flags. But all his stuff is there and some of Laurel's old things. I just can't get rid of it,"

"Not enough space on your ship?"

Sara snorted, "We already train in the storeroom. I may just have to rent a storage unit until I can figure out something more permanent,"

"Sorry I couldn't be more help,"

Sara shook her head, "Its fine Felicity. I'll figure it out,"

"Ready to head out?" Ava asked, clearing her throat as she walked up to them.

"Just about,"

They said their goodbyes, taking their leave.

"It's cold out, do you want to take a cab,"

Ava shook her head, wrapping an arm around Sara's waist as they started their walk. They were quiet, but Sara could hear the cogs turning in Ava's mind.

"How did you like everyone?"

"They were nice."

The answer was clipped and even more concise than Sara would expect of Ava.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing really,"

"Ava,"

"So I overheard you talking about your dad's apartment," Ava started, her voice hedging.

"… Okay,"

"Why don't you use my place? I have the space,"

"Wait, what?"

"Do you want to? Only if you to. You don't have to. I can help look for a storage unit,"

Sara stopped walking. "You know that it sounds like you just asked me to move in."

"I'm trying not to think about it like that so I won't be disappointed if you say no."

"Are you asking me to move in?"

"No. That would inefficient for you. You're the captain of the Waverider. You need to be on your ship,"

"And I can also travel to and from the ship in literally no time. So, are you asking?"

"Yes? I get if you spend most nights on your ship anyway. But it could be a place to come back to,"

A smile grew on Sara's lips, "But you know most of the stuff is my dad's,"

"It's important to you,"

"Alright then,"

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes,"

"Yes?"

"Yes, you dork. I want to leave my stuff at your home,"

Ava kissed her, slow and lingering.

"Does this mean I get a key?" Sara asked with a smirk then she gasped, "Does this mean we'll go grocery shopping together? I'm warning you, thanks to Gideon I've gotten used to a certain lifestyle. Think you handle that?"

"Don't make me regret this," Ava said, even as she laughed.

* * *

Nardragon~ until the next page.


End file.
